The Real Story of Fruma Sarah
by WaterBookLover
Summary: A Fiddler on the Roof fic, with a tad of Dracula. We find out why Fruma Sarah was always so bitter. This was my first fic and is rather badly written... I think I'll fix sooner or later... REVISED AND REVIVED!
1. Take 1: Four Years Ago

Disclaimer : NONE of these characters are mine. It is mostly Fiddler on the Roof characters, with a bit of Dracula in it. The poem IS mine, though.  
  
I'm sorry if there is any terrible spelling, my auto correct on my computer had gotten out of wack.  
  
The Real Story of Fruma Sarah  
By Sailor Book  
  
How can you be so blind?  
I love you,  
Can't you see that?  
  
Lazer Wolf stepped onto the deck. He couldn't believe he was actually on his way to America. A faint scream rent the air. A few minutes the second mate rushed past Lazer, and with a big splash fell into the water. Too late to help him, Lazer remebered that the second mate couldn't swim. He shuddered. Not only was he worried that such a dependable and down-to-earth man had died, but also before the doomed man had taken the plunge Lazer had breifly seen his face. His face was that of a mad man. No sane person could ever have had the expression Lazer had seen. Lazer knew, without a doubt, that he would be having nightmares for the next few weeks.  
  
Not that he already wasn't having any nightmares. Ever since his wife, Fruma Sarah had died he had continually had dreams in which Fruma Sarah drank his blood. That was some time ago. Let's see five, seven, no, fifteen years since she died. Not that he had really mourned her passing. He had maybe on occasion been affectionate to her, but she had never ruled his heart. Only one person had. Golde. He had loved Golde from the first time he set eyes on her. But, she was married to Tevye. So, he wanted to marry her daughter, so as to get closer to Golde. Maybe her daughter was even a bit like her. But that had been cheated of him as well.  
  
My love burns for you.  
Only you.  
Yet,  
You turn your eyes away,  
Looking instead at other young girls.  
Ignoring me,  
Your wife.  
I love you,  
I'll always love you.  
  
He wondered what had happened to Ralph, the second mate. Just yesterday one of the cabin boys, going to fetch another passengers luggage had asked God to give him the same fate as Ralph. Lazer decied to find out. As he entered the hold where all unneeded luggage was held, the light seemed to form a sinister glow in the dark room upon his wife's pearl box. He hadn't seen the contents of the trunk since the day he gave it to her, but he was sure it was full of the many fine things, mostly pearls, he had gotten her over the years. These gifts were meant to be apology for not being very kind to her, especially in the love department. For some reason he couldn't fathom, he couldn't bear selling it before leaving Anatevka. He crossed the room and tried to open the box one handed, the light in the other. Finding the lid to heavy to open one-handly, he set down the lamp. With both hands he grunted and strained but no matter how he tried he couldn't make the coffin lid budge an inch. Coffin lid ?!?! Where did that idea come from ? He stared in horrer and fear at the pearl box. Then he drew himself up knowing that he must be imagining things. A breath of air whispered across his face. I love you, it told him. Lazer, you've gone mad, he told himself. The next moment the captian had opened the door, interupting his thoughts. It was only the wind from the door opening. But he knew that the whisper had occured before the captain had entered.   
" Oh hello Wolf. I was just getting something I wanted to show my wife. "  
" I was just leaving. " Lazer exclaimed hastily, wanting to leave as soon as possible.  
" If you'll just want a minute I can show you to. It's a beautiful saphire necklace I got my wife for her birthday. " Lazer shifted nervously from foot to foot, as the captain vigourously dug into his suitcase. It took him several minutes, and Lazer felt the room closing in on him, constricing him. He was suffocating. " Ah, here it is. " The captain triumphitly and proudly held up the necklace. In the lamplight it's beauty seemed dull, and the sapphires looked black.  
As the door closed after the two men, a sigh was almost audible, coming from the direaction of a trunk once filled with fine things, mostly pearls of the highest quality.  
  
My heart aches for gentle words from you.  
Being pulled to earth I know it will not happen.  
Could you ever love me ?  
I whisper those magic words that you don't seem to hear.  
I love you.  
You turn your head not listining to my confession.  
You have become a silent statue,  
Devoid of emotion.  
Why else am I so bitter ?  
  
For the first time in his life, sleep evaded Lazer. He was one of those fortunate few whom sleep was a matter of putting one's head on one's pillow, and getting up. He had managed to sleep through and after amny things, even after the death of his wife he could sleep easily. Except for the dreams. To many times to count his neighbors had come running when he screamed in his sleep, his wife tortuing him even after death.   
A figure was leaning over him.  
" Lazer. Lazer. " The figure was shaking him. The voice was very familiar but he couldn't quite place it. He thoughts flew to the only person it could be.  
" You're dead. " He whispered in terror, his eyes wide as a rabbit's. A low chuckle eminated from Fruma Sarah.  
" I'm not. But I wish I were. I-I-, " The voice faltered. What sounded very much like a sniff and a sob came from the figure still cloaked in shadow. " Lazer, I'm a vampire. There I said it. One day when I was picking flowers in honor of Yusella's wedding. It was rather late, but I thought that if I hurried I would make it in time. As I reached the meadow the sun dipped below the horizan. A large object swooped down on me, and the next thing I knew I was in a coffin five feet below the earth. I escaped and have lived the in the pearl box. " Lazer looked on with renewed horror as the former woman came into sight, the moonlight from the porthole exposing the pale skin and two shiny objects, fangs, were attached to her lower lip. The eye lids were heavily shadowed, but the face before him was not unattractive. She's stunning. And I remember her as being ugly. " Lazer, I've been drinking your blood over the years. Only one more drink and we could be together forever. " He looked at the breathtaking woman in front of him, all thoughts of Golde were being washed away forever. He found his voice,  
" Yes. I'll go with you. I never realized how much I loved you. " She smiled happily, for the first time, he realized. Together they walked out of the room, hand in hand.  
  
I will try to win your love.  
Even if it takes forever.  
Lazer,  
I love you,  
Please,  
Don't run away from me again.  
I love you.  
  
The End  



	2. Take 2: The Present: Revised and Revived...

Disclaimer : Do I look like I own "Fiddler on the Roof?" Poem's mine.  
The Real Story of Fruma Sarah: Take 2  
By WaterBookLover formerly known as Sailor Book/Water Mistress formerly known as Sailor Book

Confused on who Yusella is? Well, when my eighth grade did the musical, all 64 of us were allowed or forced to participate, so many of the smaller or unnamed characters got their parts divided. My best friend, got to be the wife of the hat maker, and when she picked out a name from a hat full of Russian names she picked Yusella (I was Hodel). That's why her name appeared in the first version.

Also, I know next to nothing about ships, so if I made a mistake, sorry!

_How can you be so blind?  
I love you,  
Can't you see that?_

Lazer Wolf stepped onto the deck, the gentle swaying of the wooden boards beneath him belying the treachery of the foaming waters. He still couldn't believe he was actually on his way to America, despite the brisk, cold, salty breeze rustling through his clothes and causing him to shake. He leaned over the icy metal banister and was disappointed to be met once again with blue-grey scenery.

As he stood there, faint scream rent the air and jerked him out of his silent contemplation. As he hastily turned around and took a step, heading for the presumed direction of the distress signal, the first mate rushed Lazer. In the split few seconds before the first mate passed Lazer, he could all too clearly see the twisted bestial fear scrawled on the normally stoic man's face. Then he was past and Lazer, too shocked to mutter an expletive or even to reach out to the other man, watched him scramble over the safety rail and jump into the winter water. Even the best of swimmers would have trouble surviving in the freezing life giver, and the first mate was only one of many on board who did not know how to swim. Lazer knew, without a doubt, that he would be having nightmares for the next few weeks.

Not that he wasn't having nightmares already. In fact, ever since his wife, Fruma Sarah, had died all those long years ago, he had continually had strange dreams of his deceased "beloved." Some dreams were as simple and almost as sweet as a gentle caress, and a loving whisper. Others, however, were confusing and terrifying, mostly starring his wife sprouting fangs and biting him.

Not that he had really mourned her passing. He had maybe on occasion been affectionate to her as an absent minded master to a playful dog, but she had never ruled his heart. Only one person had: Golde. He had loved Golde from the first time he set eyes on her, as cliché as that might sound. But it was true! And no words from Yente were going to change that. But, she was already married to Tevye. So, he decided on the day his wife died that he absolutely would marry one of her daughters, just to get closer to golden Golde. Maybe, if he was lucky, the new wife would be similar in face and mind to Tevye's darling. But that resolution had been cheated of him as well.

_My love burns for you.  
Only you.  
Yet,  
You turn your eyes away,  
Looking instead at other young girls.  
Ignoring me,  
Your wife.  
I love you,  
I'll always love you._

Lazer slowly walked toward down into the hold, having informed the captain of the sad suicide, but he just couldn't seem to turn his mind from the matter. What made him even more curious was that a week ago one of the cabin boys, going to fetch another passenger's luggage, had also killed himself in a similar manner. Starting to feel the flush of an adventure mixed with gleeful trepidation and nauseous excitement, Lazer decided that he _would_ try to discover the meaning of the mystery.

As he entered the hold where all unneeded luggage was held and where the cabin boy had been seen exiting in his final mad dash, the lamp in his hand swung precariously and the shadows formed a sinister glow upon his wife's jewelry chest. He hadn't seen the contents of the trunk since the day he gave it to her, but he was sure it was full of the many fine things, most likely filled with the pearls he had gotten her over the years which she seemed to have somewhat obsessed over. These gifts were meant to be apology for his utter neglect, especially in the love department. For some reason he couldn't quite fathom, whether from nostalgia or a hidden deep regret, he couldn't bear selling the box before leaving Anatevka. After taking a cursory glance at the rest of the well stocked room and deeming the contents seemingly innocent, he slowly crossed the room. He ran his fingers along the chestnut and mahogany wood, the gilded _Fruma Sarah_, before crouching down and studying the lock. The lock was surprisingly not rusted, and looked rather well oiled. He stood up, stretching his abused leg muscles and tried to open the box one handedly, the light in the other. Finding the lid to be either startlingly heavy or the hinges actually rusted, he set down the lamp. With both hands he grunted and strained but no matter how he tried he could not make the coffin lid budge an inch.

'Coffin lid ! Where did that idea come from?' He wondered to himself. He stared in horror and fear at the pearl chest. It was indeed a chest, and not close to being coffin shaped, but it was still big enough for a child or a small woman to curl up inside.

He slowly shook his head, attempting to shake off the mad thoughts prancing around his brain. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, closing his eyes, and in his mind he was suddenly not on a passenger ship with little food and horrible conditions, causing many passengers to die, even if not by mysterious causes. Suddenly, he was back, back home, his old home, gently being rocked by his mother as she hummed a lullaby to quiet his nightmare and soothe his inarticulate fear. A breath of air whispered across his face: 'I love you.' He opened his eyes again, but there was no one there. The boards above his head creaked, reminding him of his present situation. Had he been truly dreaming?

The next moment, the captain had opened the door, almost thankfully interrupting his thoughts. 'It was only the wind from the door opening,' he desperately tried to convince himself. But deep within his subconscious, he knew that the whisper had occurred before the captain had entered and had been real, not his imagination or the murmur of a dream. Surprisingly, the captain and his crew were not as anti-Semitic as the rest of their counterparts and tried to treat their Jewish charges with the same respect as the rest of his passengers. The craggy man looked at him first with surprise, but then with some sadness.

"Oh! Hello, Wolf! I didn't realize someone was down here. I was just getting something I wanted to show my wife—Thank you, once again, for informing me about…" Having lost his own friends by leaving Anatevka, Lazar took pity on the captain, who evidently was unable to finish the sentence.

"I was just leaving," Lazer explained hastily, feeling rather uncomfortable with the subject matter and the stifling room.

"If… If you'll just wait a minute, I… can show it to you. It's a sapphire and diamond pendant. I bought it in Kiev for my wife's birthday. We were—that is, John, the first mate, and I—we were planning on a birthday party, but now…" Lazer shifted nervously from foot to foot, as the captain vigorously, yet almost viciously, dug into the large suitcase in the officer's area. It took him several agonizing minutes, and Lazer felt the room closing in on him, constricting him. He had never been claustrophobic, but now he was suffocating. "Ah, here it is," the captain muttered. He turned toward Lazer and gently held up the necklace for inspection. In the unstable lamplight its beauty was dull: the sapphires could even be compared with onyxes, and the diamonds were as sparkly as a sheet of un-laminated paper. The captain look down with his charge, and just exhaled, before tucking the trinket into his breast pocket and moving toward the wooden door.

As the door closed after the two men, a sigh was almost audible, coming from the direction of a trunk once filled with fine things, mostly pearls of the highest quality.

_My heart aches for gentle words from you.  
Being pulled to earth I know it will not happen.  
Could you ever love me?  
I whisper those magic words that you don't seem to hear.  
I love you._  
_You turn your head not listening to my confession.  
You have become a silent statue,  
Devoid of emotion.  
Why else am I so bitter?_

For the first time in his life, sleep evaded Lazer. He was one of those fortunate few whom sleep was a matter of putting one's head on one's pillow, and getting up. He had managed to sleep through and after many things, even after the death of his wife he could sleep easily, even when his sleep was continuously plagued with his unusual dreams. Too many times to count, his neighbors had come running when he screamed in his sleep, his wife torturing him even after death.

A figure was leaning over him. He couldn't see the person, he didn't have the energy yet to open his eyes, but the feeling of his or her presence was strong enough to call him from the gates of sleep.

"Lazer. Lazer, wake up." He could sense the figure shaking him, and a part of his mind resisted as his body was inevitable awoken. He could tell that the voice of the person was incredibly familiar, as familiar as that of a parent or familial relation, but in his one-quarter-asleep state, he couldn't quite place it. As he started to catalogue the people he knew whose voice could possibly sound the same, the shock of his revelation filled his with a dread cold. He thoughts flew to the only person it could be.

"You're dead," he whispered in utter terror, his eyes still closed, desperately trying to make the bad dream go away. A low chuckle emanated from Fruma Sarah.  
"I'm not. But I wish I were. I… I…," the voice faltered. What sounded very much like a sniff and a sob came from the figure still cloaked in shadow. "Lazer, I'm a vampire. There I said it. Do you remember that cattle scare all those years ago? How everyone never left the house after dark because of the cattle dying from something which could only be unnatural? During that time, there was one day that I wanted to pick some flowers for our table. It was rather late, but I thought that if I hurried I would make it there and back before dusk. But I miscalculated the time, for as I reached the meadow, the sun dipped below the horizon. A large object swooped down on me, and the next thing I knew I was in a coffin six feet below the earth. I escaped, and I waited in the dark until found my creator. It was horrible. He was a horrible, horrible man. And he is still a frightening and evil person, undead though he be. I begged and pleaded with him to leave Anatevka alone, and he eventually agreed. But in exchange, I would have to live in the pearl box and drink blood only from the one I loved most and the people surrounding him." Lazer had gradually opened his eyes throughout this story, and now looked with renewed horror as the former woman came into sight, the moonlight from the porthole exposing the pale skin and two shiny objects, fangs, which were attached to her lower lip. Her eye lids were heavily shadowed, but the face before him was not unattractive. 'She's stunning,' he thought in amazement. 'And I remember her as being ugly.' "Lazer, I've been slowly and carefully drinking your blood all these years because you have always been the love I love most. Only one more drink and we could be together forever." He looked at the breathtaking woman in front of him, and all thoughts of Golde were washed away forever. For you see, he never was in love with Golde, only with the idea of being in love, just as Romeo loved Rosaline. That isn't to say that in those few minutes he fell in love with his former wife, because no one can fall in true love that quickly, not even Romeo and Juliet. But in those few moments he realized, that while he didn't love her, he could come to love her through experience and shared hardships and many long years to come. Out of all the women in the world, _this_ was the one he could come to truly love. He finally found his voice,

"Yes. I'll go with you." She smiled happily, and for the first time. Together they walked out of the room, hand in hand.

_I will try to win your love.  
Even if it takes forever.  
Lazer,  
I love you,  
Please,  
Don't run away from me again.  
I love you.  
_  
The End  
I have finally fulfilled my promise, so sayonara, minna-san. For those who have no clue what in the world I'm talking about, read chapter two of "Cutie Kyuubi." It's not a real chapter, but a farewell note.


End file.
